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Rolf Müller
Rolf Müller was a circus strongman from East GermanyUnder the Hood: Chapter V and also a serial killer of children. Biography His family was on the run during the Communist witch-hunts. It is implied that in 1920 he was working for Hauptzelt Zircus. One of his victims was Jacob who strangely appears in an old photograph with himBefore Watchmen: Minutemen 02Before Watchmen: Minutemen 06 although their relationship and the identity of Jacob is open to interpretation. He also had in his possession a copy of A Child's Garden Verses dedicated to Jacob. It is implied that Hooded Justice was one of his victims, if not Jacob himself.Last frames of Before Watchmen: Minutemen 04 Around 1939 he disappeared and it was believed he was executed by Nazis. It turned out he moved to America and joined Big Top Circus which toured the East Coast, and he was known as the "Mighty Meuller". The tours coincided with the disappearances of children, as was the case in 1940. Silhouette who was investigating such disappearances, was aided by Nite Owl I and Mothman and discovered one of his victims in an abandoned building not far from the Circus's site. Müller quit his job at the height of the Senate Subcommittee hearings. While looking for Hooded Justice, the Comedian researched Silhouette's casefiles in Boston and was led to the Circus. He found Meuller in his trailer and strangled him with a belt. Further research showed that he had no connection to H.J. Almost a year after H.J.'s disappearance, the New Frontiersman mentioned Müller's disappearance, and implied that he was executed by his Communist superiors. 3 months later a decomposing body with a shot on his head was washed up the coast of Boston. It was tentatively identified as Müller. Hollis Mason considered possible that Müller and Hooded Justice were one and the same, since they had consistent builds. Trivia *While the original book series creates an ambiguous possibility about H.J.'s identity, Before Watchmen expands the story of Müller but also heavily retcons the original reference. First of all, it establishes that Müller was not H.J. It also establishes that the body with the gunshot on the head mentioned in the original text is most certainly not Müller since the Comedian strangled him (although it's always possible that after strangling him he shot his body and threw him into the sea in order to stage different circumstances). Several inconsistencies arise, since the original text mentions that Müller had quit his job and then disappeared around the same time H.J. disappeared. In the prequel however, H.J. disappears in 1952 and Müller is killed in his trailer in 1955, still working at the circus; while both characters are killed in 1955, Müller didn't seem to have quit his job or anyhow disappeared at the same time as H.J. (who did 3 years earlier). *Also, although in the original appearance Müller is bearded, in the prequel he is always seen with a moustache. *An important retcon introduced by the prequel is that, as it turns out, Mason wrote deliberate lies in Under the Hood. He makes up the theory of H.J. being Müller in order to cover up the true story, as he knows the truth about both of them. *It is also interesting to note that there is a possibility that Müller is the mysterious masked butcher who mutilated Blanche and other orphan kids; they had similar builds, similar shape of head and eyebrows; also both characters are introduced wiping their hands, and him possessing the children book implies a connection to Zandt. In the prequel, the Comedian explains that he has found out Müller did work for the Nazis, which contradicts the rumors that the strongman had a communist background. References Category:Characters Category:Villains Category:Deceased